Why Batman: Arkham Knight Isn't on Wii U

Batman: Arkham Knight will be the first game to feature the Batmobile, and the technical considerations of that feature ruled out the possibility of putting in on the last generation of consoles -- including Wii U.

"Once we decided we were going to commit to the Batmobile, all these other technical decisions were made for us," Rocksteady's Dax Ginn told NowGamer. "We knew that we had to do it right--the imagination of the experience of driving the Batmobile that people have is that it’s fast, that it’s destructive, it’s kind of a tank in Gotham City, but it’s also highly technical -- all of those things can only be done on next-gen."

He went on to say that the Batmobile could work on the older consoles, but "not in the way that people imagine it. It’s the power fantasy of driving this legendary vehicle; if it can only do a top speed of 25 mph that’s not the power fantasy and that’s why we couldn’t have done that previously."

When asked specifically about the Wii U, Ginn indicated that it would have had the same gameplay compromises as the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions, and so it was ruled out as well. "We have to make our technology choices specifically with reference to the gameplay objectives that we want, so we choose the platforms that are going to give us that," he said.

Rocksteady's third game in its Arkhamverse is set to hit PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One later this year, and preordering will let you play as Harley Quinn. Check out IGN's preview for more details.

Steve Watts is a freelance writer who painted his car black and put a sparkler on the back, but it just wasn't how he imagined the Batmobile. You can read more of his keen insights by following him on Twitter and IGN.